Furnace



E. G. BAlLEY Jan. 1, 1935.

original File@ March 17, 1928 ATTORNEY E. G. BAILEY Jan. l, 1935.

FURNACE original Filed Maron 17, 1928 's sheets-sheet 2 INVENTOR 51/1'17 @5mi/@y BY @Rw-2i- ATTORNEY Jan. l, E G. BAlLEY l FURNAGE Oiginal Filed March 17, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 33 INVENTOR Ervin G BaI/qy ATTORNEY 40 ten Slag into granules I maintain over and cov' For thepurposes of illustration, vI have shown Patented Jan. l, 1935 l Y UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE i FURNACE Ervin G. Bailey, Easton, Pa., assignor to Fuller Lehigh Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Y i Claims. (Cl. 122-235) This application forms a division of my copendrequired temperature differential between the ing parent application, Serial No. 262,363, filed lower fluid cooled metallic part of the oor and March 17, 1928, and is intended to cover the procthe upper face which supports the liquid slag. ess or method of operating a boiler furnace em- This layer may be of any suitable heat resistant 5 ploying slag-forming fuel such as pulverized coal material selected for the purpose. The or is 5 as therein set forth. 4 fluid cooled to a degree suilicient to protect the This part of the invention relates to an imsame from the destructive action of the molten provement in methods of operating that type of slag, but insuicient to prevent the formation boiler furnace in which a slag-forming fuel is and maintenance of a quiescent pool of molten l0 burned. With fuel such as pulverized coal, which slag. 10 in burning forms slag, trouble has been expe- As a second means of maintaining the liquid rienced in disposing of the slag which is deposcondition of the slag in the pool, the llame of ited in the bottom of the vfurnace directly from the burning fuel is directed close to or in direct the burning fuel, or else gathers on the walls of contact with this pool. By either or both of the furnace and runs down toward the floor or these means, slag in the pool is maintained mol- 15 I both. i ten under all working conditions of furnace loads,`

In the practical art of pulverized coal furnaces, while at the same time uid cooling of the mewater cooling of the side walls has been used, with tallic floor parts prevents damage to them, or without refractory linings, in order to protect In the accompanying drawings,l in which I such walls from the damaging effect of the molten have shown .one embodiment of the invention- 20 ash usually termed slag. Fig. 1 is a vertical sectionalv view through the l In addition to the problem of properly protectlower part of Aa furnace, constructed according ing the walls, there has been the problem of reto my invention; moving the ash or slag collecting in the bottom. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary section taken on the Slag screensinthe form of separated transverse line 2--2 of Fig. 1; 25 water tubes above the furnace bottom have been Fig. 3 is a fragmentary elevation on an en- K commercially used to vchill the slag particles as larged scale, and showing the interior of the they descend and thus enable the cooled granular furnace wall at the slag tapping opening; ash or slag to be removed in dry form. Fig. 4 is a sectional view through the slag The water cooling'fof the side walls especially tapping opening, being taken on the lines. 4+4 3Q in connection with the transverse water tubes. of Figs. 2 and 3; above the floor or the water tubes in the floor, Fig. 5 is a fragmentary elevation of the outer all contributed toward chilling the slag particles face of the furnace wall at the slag tapping and S0 that the Slag was removed in dry granular access openings, and taken on the line 5-5 of form. The basic principle there involved was Fig, 2; N I 35 chilling or freezing the Slag. Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 4; and As set forth in my parent application above Fig, '7 is a sectional elevation illustrating the recited, I water cool the side walls and also fluid fumat'ie shown in Figs 1 to s inc1usive as incool the bottom; but instead of freezing the molcorporated in a Steam generator.

enng th? bqttom or n01. a' lake or pool of molten my invention as applied to a furnace having sub- Slag wmch 1S of-decreasmg temperature from its. stantially vertical walls,` of which are shown lslgpdsfacadqwtrdef -urglicyot three, 1, 2 and 3. each of which isformedby ievgl cf suglispclii champel; litlifliscs ltctvilcen'tapi-e .Vertieeuy extending Water tubes 4 .5 and .6

pings anais intermit'bntly'lowered when tapped respectively, connected at their lower ends to It may be entirelympari-,muy thdmwn 'at th headers 7, 8 and 9, to which tubes an appropriate end of a tapping period but ismaintamed and covering'may be applied. The upper ends of the gradually increases in depth between tappings. water tubes are connected to the usual upper To maintain the liquid condition of lthe slag headers (see Fig. '1). Normally Qwater is admitted 50 in the pool Aon anda over the floor, a layer of cheat' t0 each lower header and lSeS through the resistant material is interposed4 between the slag ltubes in the wall where some steam will be and the fluid cooled metallic parts of the door, formed. Steam andwater are discharged from such upper floor layer being of'suitablethickness the upperheader. Such furnace walls would and or such heat conductivity as to maintain the normally form part of a steam boiler and as Such 55 are termed water walls. It will be noted that every side wall is water cooled.

It will be noted that each of the lower headers is independent of the others, whereby each wall may expand and contract in a vertical direction independently of the others, and the lower headf ers are preferably carried on springsupports 10. 'I'he covering for the wall tubes may comprise individual tile or blocks 11, `which are best shown in Figs. 4 and 6, these blocks being formed with refractory faces' 12 and metallic backings 13 which are in close engagement with the tubes, where they are held by suitable clamps 14. The details of the blocks and clamping means have been omittedfrom' Fig. 2, for the sake of clearness, and because of the small scale of this ligure. 4

The oor of the furnace is supported upon suitable steel beams 15 and sometimes comprises a single course of blick 16, although in the illustrated embodiment two courses are shown.` Upon the upper course is preferably placed a layer of dolomite 17, and the`course of brick is preferably laid loosely on the supporting metallic plates 18 disposed on the beams 15.

Adjacent the edges of the floor, the plates 18 upon which the brick work is supported, extend substantially intov contact with the side walls, as

best shown in-Fig. 4.- The brick work course 16 is provided with expansion jointsl 19,

burner should preferably be onewhich will give great 'turbulence-to the incoming fuel, and' it will be notedthat the ,burneris so. arranged as to project va flame horiz ntally and relatively" 40 closeto the noor.

,- In the embodiment shown,I contemplate plac-v substantially in the inga'burner in each wall position shown, so that the fia/mes therefrom will intersect within the furnace and inI such'a 45 way as to cause still greaterturbulence than` isf present in the individual streams of fuel, thus' oflthe air and fuel,

providing thorough mixture and complete combustionv of the fuel.- A, l The burning fuel will-form slag, as is well 50 known tin the art, and the majorpart of this slag' s will-find its way-to theiioor of the furnace. -In stead of making eorts to cool the slagand cause it to form a relatively fine ash,- as has been done in the past, I accumulate slag on the floor. in the '55 form of a quiescent pool of molten slag,-and tap` this slag at will at suitable intervals.

The slagis kept in its molten staterlby the proximity ofA the `streams of burning lfuel which,

as noted above, are relatively close toA the hoor,

60 and therefore maintain the temperature of the slag on the floor sufiiciently high, t`o"ke'ep"it"inv its molten state. This action is promoted by the layer of heat-resisting material overlying fthe metallic bottom of the oorj and' separating "itv 65 from the molten slag pool. y

.Theslag is preferably tapped at intervals through a suitable opening such as indicated at 22 and from which it runs down aspoutj23. In the form shown, 'this is 'formed of two sections, 70 one supported between the ears 24 and the other pivoted at 25ulpon such ears 24, and being provided `with an apron 26 which, `whenV the outer section 23' is lifted, will close` the inner section of the spout.- By the intermittentv tapping, a '1s vigorous flow of slag is insured such as will Pre- `and expanded into the bo wliilih are covered by a plurality of courses exten g l:site sides of the tap of they flame' vwhich is relatively close Y sufliciently high above intervals may be once vingpurposes, as an vent closing of the hole by the freezing of the slag that might occur with a feeble 110W, as in a continuous discharge. Between tapping periods -a.sluiceway, where it may be subjected to jets of water or it maybe tapped directly into a stream of water or otherwise disposed of. The starting and stopping of the slag flow*` may be can'ied out in desirable manner as by plugging or unplugging the tap hole.

Adjacent the taphole, I preferably -provide an access doorindicated at 27. Normally, this door Y is bricked up as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the brick being removed when it is desired to enter the furnace through the door. Y

Disposed in front of the two openings formed by the door and the tap hole, and spaced from the wall of the furnace, is a. transversely extending header box 28.- This box preferably extends beyond both openings and is connected to the wall tubes above these openings, these tubes being bent outwardly as best shown in Fig. 4,

Disposed beneath the door 27 is a second transvversely extending header box 29, connected by nipples 30 to the header 8. The boxes 28 and 29 are connected by nipples 31 disposed on opposite sides of the door 27.

hole are two nipples 32, which connect'the header 8 to the box 28.

By the above arrangement, aconvenient disposition of the access door provided, and proper circulation of water past both the access door yandtap hole-'is also obtained. At the same time,

the`tubes-ar`e posed far enough from thetap preventing or hindering its'flow.

` A cooling uid is introduced under the oor contact 'with the metallic bottom paijts'thereof. As shown, this cooling f iuid is air entering the chamber below. the furnacefbottom through the central opening in the foundation shown in 1 (not numbered); bottom parts'and thence ows sidewise into conduits 33 which supply air to the-powdered fuel '-burners. "The heat abstracted from the :door is thus utilized;

Disposed on oppoi This air cools the nietal` hole' to prevent their chilling the slag and' thus In operation, the furnace is startedand as -the slag accumulates on lthe `floor, it is maintained in a-molten 'condition bythe intense vheat y to theoor, and by the heat resistant layer between the fluid-cooled metal parts of the i'oor and the overlyingslagpool. A As thel slag 'accumulatesand reaches 'a point the tap hole it is tapped lower at desirable intervals. In-practicel these or twice a day under normal loadingfand under light loading the period may extend to several days between tappings. If it is intended to use the slag for manufacturvingredient in a lcomposition of mattei' for which it may be suitable, any desirable material may be added to the pool of slag before4 tapping.LA For example, limestone or feldspar are substances which may -be added, although of course I do not intend to-1imit myself to such substances alone. Such material may gli introduced through the observation doors, not

own' y Y The sliding expansion joints between the floor and the side walls and between the side walls themselves in the corners, allow relative expansion and contraction Without causing leakage openings to form, or injury to the furnace parts.

'I'he heat from the pool of molten slag will aid materially in maintaining a high furnace temperature by radiation, and the heat is partly carried to the wall tubes by means of the heat conducting tile supported thereon, the tubes maintaining the walls cool so that the high temperature generated by the burning gases, assisted by the radiation from the slag pool, does not destroy them. `The walls are preferably made of the heat conducting tile indicated in Fig. 4, except at the two openings, where a magnesite or other suitable brick may be employed instead of tile. Such brick are easily replaceable when burned out. By this means, a high furnace temperature may be maintained without damage to the walls or the oor, the heat passing through the tile which are of high conductivity, and thence into the water circulating in the wall tubes and into the fluid beneath the floor and in contact with the metallic parts of the oor.

In the construction described, the slag fro the side walls flows onto the furnace floor, where it joins the slag deposited directly on the floor from the combustion space to form a molten mass.- The joints between the sides of the floor and the side walls are kept tight enough to insure that the slag will not leak through. By carrying the Water tubes well below the top of the fioor,1protection of al1 parts of the wall which may be contacted with uid slag is insured.

One of the principal features of my improved method is the degree to which the side walls i and floor of theY furnace are cooled. As stated,

I provide for the positive fluid cooling of the side walls and floor to a degree su'icient to adequately protect the walls and floor from the destructive action of molten slag; but not to such a degree as would prevent the formation and maintenance of the pool of molten slag on theoor. In vthe preferred embodiment which I have disclosed, I provide this cooling `by the circulation of water through' the tubes in the side walls and by the circulation of air through the chamber beneath the oor. My invention, however, in its broader aspects is not limited to this particular means of cooling, for other means and other fluids may be provided for cooling without departing from the intended scope thereof. In4 this connection it may be observed that I have paid particular attention to the cooling of at least those portions of the side wall which form the boundary portions of the molten pool of slag so as to insure adequate protection of the furnace from the destructive action of the molten slag.

The present invention has many commercial advantages in respect Ato installations where slag is frozen. It affords a method of efficiently burning a wide variety of coals at high ratings. It produces rapid ignition of the fuel and high furnace temperature. It prevents infiltration of the air through the bottom and requires less excess air. The removal and handling of the slag is facilitated over other types of systems and is less expensive. Likewise, the building volume of the furnace is reduced and the construction is such that interruptions to service will be at a minimum.

Changes may bel made in the furnace and boiler, and other parts of the apparatus, without departing from my inventionwhich resides in l themethod of operating a furnace.

I claim- 1. The method of4 operating a finely divided fuel furnace havingV a heat resistant floor for supporting a slag pool, which comprises admitting to the furnace elements of combustion including slag forming fuel; effecting combustion of said elements While in suspension to produce and maintain molten slag in the furnace; accumulating the molten slag on the floor in a pool of substantial area so as to protectthe floor from the radiant heat of combustion; fluid cooling the floor structure and at least those portions of the side walls which form the boundary,

of the-pool to a degree suflicient to protect the floor and walls, but insufficient to prevent the formation and maintenance of'the molten pool of slag on the floor; and tapping off the molten slag.

2. The method of operating a finely divided fuel furnace having a heat resistant floor for supporting a slag pool, which comprises admitting to Lthe furnace elements of-combustion including slag forming fuel; effecting combustion of said elements while in suspension to produce and maintain molten slag in the furnace; accumulating the molten slag on the floor in a pool of substantial area so .as to protect the floor from the radiant heat of combustion; fluidl cooling the floor structure and at least those portions of the side walls which form the boundary of the pool to a degree suicient to protect the floor and walls, but insufficient to prevent the formation and maintenance of the Amolten pool of slag on the floor; andl intermittently to the furnace walls at all points; fluid cooling the floor and the furnace side walls adjacent the outer boundary of the pool to a degree sufficient to protect the floor and the walls butv insufficient to prevent the formation and maintenance of the molten pool-of slag; and tapping off the molten slag.

4. The method of operating a finely divided fuel furnace having a heat resistant oor for supporting a slag pool, which comprises admitting to the furnace elements of combustion including slag forming fuel; effecting combustion of said elements while in suspension to produce and maintain molten slag in the furnace; accumulating the molten slag on the floor in a pool of substantial area so as to protect the `ioor from the radiant heat of combustion; projecting the flame of combustion near enough to the pool to maintain it molten; uid cooling the floor structure and at least those portions of the side walls which form the boundary of the pool to a degree sufficient to protect the floor and walls, but insuflicient to prevent the formation4 and maintenance of the molten .pool l of slag on the floor; and tapping off the molten slag.

5. A method of operating a finely divided fuel lfurnace having a heat resistant -floor for supporting a slag pool, which comprises admitting to the furnace elements of combustion, including slag forming fuel; eiecting combustion of'said elements while in suspension to produce and maintain molten slag in the furnace; accumulat-- ing the molten slag on the oor in a pool of substantial area so as to protect the floor from the radiant heat of combustion; uid cooling the oor structure and liquid cooling at least those portions of the side walls which form the boundary of the pool to a. degree sucient to protect the oor and walls, but insuicient to prevent the formation and maintenance of the molten pool of fslag on the ioor; and tapping 01T the molten slag.

ERVIN G. BAILEY.' 

